Twelve-year-old Vivienne Hennemann recently learned a little secret about movie-making: it can be tedious.
“It was sometimes boring to sit in the chairs and keep filming,” she says of the winning short film she and her 13-year-old brother Peter made for Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation’s student contest this year. “But it was really fun to make and edit the whole video.”
The three-minute film, entitled “Here I Am,” has garnered nearly 5,000 views on ORTL’s YouTube channel. Several Henneman family members helped or made appearances in it, including an uncle, grandma, sister and some cousins.
“We don’t want people to support abortion,” says Peter, who aims to be a running back or wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs someday. “It’s important to show that unborn people matter, even though they might not seem like people yet.”
Peter’s and Vivienne’s video was presented at the 2024 Together We Advocate conference. The award also came with a cash prize — but the Salem siblings say that their aim in entering was far higher.
“The unborn are people just like us, and abortion is murder,” Peter says. “Our grandma showed it to some people, and they were crying a lot.”
Vivienne has hopes of acting in more film projects, potentially as a career. She hopes “Here I Am” encourages other students to enter the annual student contests — not only with videos, but with art, essays and speeches, too.
“I think it’s a really good chance for everyone to learn about being pro-life,” she says.
For information on ORTLEF’s student contests, see ortl.org/contests. ORTL’s YouTube channel is at youtube.com/@OregonRightToLifeKeizer.
